SB 219 Virginia Senate · 2026 Regular Session

Photo speed monitoring devices; placement and operations.

Summary
Photo speed monitoring devices; placement and operation; summons. Requires a second summons for a vehicle speed violation captured by a photo speed monitoring device to be mailed if a summoned person fails to appear on the date of return set out in the first summons mailed. If the summoned person fails to appear after the second summons, the bill requires the Commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles to refuse to issue or renew the vehicle registration certificate or the license plate issued for such vehicle until the required civil penalties and any administrative fees have been paid and any applicable reinstatement processes required by the Department of Motor Vehicles have been completed. The bill directs the Supreme Court of Virginia to develop a summons for vehicle speed violations captured by photo speed monitoring devices and requires summonses issued for such vehicle speed violations to be such summons. The bill makes various changes to the requirements for the use of photo speed monitoring devices, including the use of funds from collected civil penalties, signage, data retention and storage, photo speed monitoring device calibration, making certain information available to the public, requirements for private vendors, and reporting. The bill establishes civil penalties for violations of requirements and provides that, for any summons issued, failure to comply with the requirements for the operation of photo speed monitoring devices renders such summons invalid and requires courts to dismiss such summons. The bill provides that any person against whom an enforcement action is carried out by a locality or law-enforcement agency, pursuant to the authority granted for the use of photo speed monitoring devices, where the enforcement action was based upon a willful disregard for applicable law, shall be entitled to an award of compensatory damages and to an order remanding the matter to the locality with a direction to carry out any further enforcement in a manner consistent with the law and may be entitled to reasonable attorney fees and court costs. The bill also provides that if a locality fails to comply with such an order, the court may order that the locality shall be ineligible to receive any funds collected from enforcement using photo speed monitoring devices, in excess of those used for its photo speed monitoring device program, and that the court shall order that any such excess funds be deposited in the Virginia Highway Safety Improvement Program until the locality comes into compliance with such order. The bill also limits the use of photo speed monitoring devices in highway work zones to when workers are present, as defined in the bill, and provides that a certificate sworn to or affirmed by a law-enforcement officer or a retired sworn law-enforcement officer is not prima facie evidence of the facts contained therein for a photo speed monitoring device placed in a highway work zone unless the operator of the photo speed monitoring device provides a sworn certification verifying that workers were present at the time of the vehicle speed violation. The bill contains delayed effective dates for certain provisions.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Mar 2026
Senate Passage
Mar 2026
House of Delegates Passage
Mar 2026
Signed into Law
Apr 2026
Introduced Jan 9, 2026 Signed Apr 13, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

Transportation Substitute Innovations (Ad Hoc) Subcommittee Substitute · 3 edits
MINOR
The bill text was reformatted and reorganized from a Senate Substitute to a House Substitute, resulting in the removal of the original header and the addition of new page headers and bill numbers. The substantive legal text regarding photo speed monitoring devices, penalties, and definitions remains unchanged, though the formatting now includes line numbers and different spacing.
Scope change
No change to the bill's scope or applicability; the changes are purely to the document's layout and metadata.
TECHNICAL

Removed the original 'Transportation Substitute' header and date (3/03/2026) that was present in the Senate version.

Added 'HOUSE SUBSTITUTE' headers, bill numbers (26109093D, SB219HC2), and line numbers to the document.

Adjusted spacing and line breaks throughout the text to match the new House formatting style.

Floor votes · Senate Feb 11, 2026 · House of Delegates Mar 11, 2026

How they voted

390
Passed
Total votes 39
Feb 11, 2026
D Democratic20
20 Yea
100% Yea
R Republican19
19 Yea
100% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
37
Key actions
12
Committee
7
Apr 13, 2026
Signed into law
Approved by Governor-Chapter 969 (effective 7/1/2026)
executive
Mar 31, 2026
Lower · Passed
Signed by Speaker
lower
Mar 30, 2026
Upper · Passed
Signed by President
upper
Mar 30, 2026
Upper · Passed
Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB219ER)
upper
Mar 11, 2026
Lower · Passed
Passed House with substitute (66-Y 33-N 0-A)
lower
Mar 10, 2026
Lower · Passed
Passed by for the day
lower
Mar 5, 2026
Lower · Passed
Reported from Transportation with substitute (18-Y 3-N)
lower
Mar 3, 2026
Lower · Passed
House subcommittee offered
lower
Feb 20, 2026
Committee
Assigned HTRAN sub: Innovations (Ad Hoc)
lower
Feb 18, 2026
Committee
Referred to Committee on Transportation
lower
Feb 13, 2026
Upper · Passed
Read third time and passed Senate (37-Y 2-N 0-A)
upper
Feb 11, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)
upper
Feb 10, 2026
Upper · Passed
Reported from Finance and Appropriations (9-Y 5-N 1-A)
upper
Jan 22, 2026
Upper · Passed
Reported from Transportation with substitute and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (15-Y 0-N)
upper
Jan 9, 2026
Committee
Referred to Committee on Transportation
upper
0 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

No sponsor information available.